Supporting clamp for mounting fittings in conduits



Oct. 20, 1942. A. o. LA DucER SUPPORTING lCILAMP FOR MOUNT ING FITTINGS IN CONDUITS ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 20, 1942 SUPPORTING CLAlVIP FOR MOUNTNG FITTINGS IN CONDUITS Arthur 0. La Ducer, West Hartford, Conn., assignor to The Wiremold Company, a corporation of Connecticut Applieation .lime 2.8, 1941, Serial No. 400,202

3 Claims.

This invention provides an improved clamp especially suited for securing electrical iittings, such as outlets, switches, and the like, in conduits. The new clamp is easy and economical to manufacture and use. It may be employed for securing various types of designs oi electrical fittings in conduits of different sorts, but it is particularly suitable for securing iittings and the like in conduits having side walls formed with a pair oi oppositely disposed longitudinal internal'grooves.

The new clamp comprises a generally U-shaped clamp body having spreadable legs connected by a bar adapted to receive and support a ntting mounting bracket. Leg-expanding means, advantageously in the form of a nut, are arranged between the spreadable legs, and screw means are arranged to clamp a iitting bracket or other part to be mounted to the bar, and at the same time to actuate the leg-expanding means to spread apart the clamp legs, whereby the clamp legs may be tightly wedged against conduit side walls or other supporting structure.

Advantageously the clamp legs and bar are formed integrally, with the legs being gradually divergent and with the extremities of the legs being bent outwardly for engagement in oppositely disposed grooves in the side walls of a conduit. The bar advantageously is formed with an aperture through which a screw extends into threaded engagement with the leg-expanding nut, whereby when the screw is tightened a tting bracket may be clamped between the screw head and the clamp bar, and at the same time the clamp legs are spread apart and may be wedged if tightly in the conduit grooves.

The invention will be better understood from the following description, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. l is a cross section through a wiring channel in which an outlet iitting is about to be mounted by the new clamp;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the clamp shown in Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a cross section through the channel shown in Fig. 1 after completion of the mounting of the outlet tting;

Fig. 4 is a plan View of the outlet iitting mounted as shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section taken substantially along the line 5-5 of Fig. 4; and

Figs. 6 and 'l are longitudinal sections similar to Fig. 5 but showing respectively a switch and a twistlock receptacle mounted in a channel by the new clamp.

As shown in Fig. 1, an outlet fitting IE is about to be mounted by the new clamp in a channelshaped wiring conduit having a bottom wall II and side walls I2. The side walls I2 are bulged outwardly adjacent the bottom wall II to form narrow longitudinally extending oppositely disposed internal grooves I3.

The clamp by which the iitting I3 is about to be mounted in the conduit comprises a generally U-shaped body having gradually divergent legs I4 connected by a bar I5. The extremities It of the legs of th-e U-shaped member are bent outwardly so that they may engage in the oppositely disposed grooves I3 in the conduit side walls. The generally U-shaped clamp body, configured as described, may readily be formed integrally by suitably bending a strip of steel or other metal.

Mounted between the gradually divergent legs I4 of the U-shaped member are expanding means in the form of a nut I'I. The nut Il, as shown in the drawing, is a generally U-shaped piece formed with legs I8 bearing against the inner surfaces of the gradually divergent legs I4 of the i clamp body. A screw I9 passes freely through an aperture formed in the bar I5 of the clamp body and into threaded engagement with a correspondingly threaded aperture in the nut I'I.

In order to fasten the fitting I0 in the conduit, the screw I9 has been passed through an opening formed in a mounting bracket 20 attached to the tting, and this mounting bracket rests on the bar I5 of the clamp body. With the fitting and clamp thus in position (as shown in Fig. l), the screw If) is turned down tightly to secure the fitting in the conduit. As the screw I9 is turned down, the nut I 'I is drawn up between the gradually divergent legs I4 of the clamp body. As a result, the legs I 4 of the clamp body are caused to diverge further, and the outwardly bent extremities I6 of the clamp body legs are forced tightly into the grooves I3 of the conduit side walls. At the same time the head of the screw I9 seats tightly against the tting bracket 2), thus securing the iitting tightly to the clamp. Thus the tting is well-secured to the clamp, and the clamp in turn is tightly wedged in the channel. Thereafter the tting cover 2I may be mounted on the iitting in the usual manner.

The outlet fitting mounted in the conduit as above described is shown in Figs. 3 to 5. Figs. 6 and 7 show respectively a switch 22 and a twistlock receptacle 23 mounted in a conduit in 55 the same manner as the outlet fitting of Figs.

1, 3, 4 and 5 means of the above-described clamp. Each of the fittings, as shown in the drawing, is mounted by means of two clamps, one at either end of the fitting. A single clamp of the character described, however, may be employed for mounting :fittings having only one mounting bracket.

The new clamp is advantageously constructed in the manner described above, for in this form it is easily and inexpensively manufactured almost wholly by stamping operations. It is understood, however, that various modications may be made in the clamp structure, and its form may be modiiied to adapt it for use in other environments, such as in conduits of modied design.

I claim:

1. The combination comprising a wiring conduit having side walls formed with a pair of oppositely disposed longitudinal internal grooves, a

fitting mounted in said conduit, and mounting means securing the tting and the conduit together comprising a generally U-shaped integral clamp body having gradually divergent legs connected by a bar, the extremities of said legs being bent outwardly and engaging in the oppositely disposed grooves in the conduit side walls, leg-expanding means arranged between the gradually divergent legs, and screw means engaging with the fitting and also with the leg eX- panding means in such manner as to hold the fitting securely against the clamp bar and to hold the leg-expanding means drawn up between the clamp legs so that said legs are wedged tightly in the conduit grooves.

2. The combination comprising a wiring conduit having side walls formed with a pair of oppositely disposed longitudinal internal grooves, a fitting mounted in said conduit, and clamp means securing the fitting to the conduit comprising spreadable clamp legs engaging in the conduit grooves, a clamp bar connecting said legs together and engaging with the tting, leg-expanding means arranged between the spreadable legs, and screw means securing the itting to the clamp bar and also engaging the leg-expandingmeans in such manner as to hold said means in legexpanded position wedging the clamp legs securely in the conduit grooves.

3. The combination comprising a wiring conduit having side walls formed with a pair of oppositely disposed longitudinal internal grooves, a fitting mounted in said conduit, and means securing said iitting and said conduit together comprising a generally U-shaped integral clamp body having gradually divergent legs connected by a bar, the extremities of said legs being bent outwardly and engaging in the oppositely disposed groeves in the conduit side walls, a legexpanding nut arranged between the gradually divergent legs, and a screw engaging with the iitting and passing through an aperture in the bar into threaded engagement with said nut in such manner as to hold the fitting securely to the bar and to hold the leg-expanding means drawn up between the clamp legs so that said legs are wedged tightly in the grooves in the conduit side walls.

ARTHUR O. LA DUCER.

CERTIFICATE 0F CORRECTTON. Patent No. 2,299,155. october 2o, `1911.2.

ARTHUR o. LA DUCER.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Pagel, first column, line 6, for "types of read --types and; page 2, first column, line l, before 1'means" insert --by--g and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 2}.|.th day of November, A. D. l9l12.

Henry Van Arsdale, (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION'.

patent No. 2,299,155. october 2o, V19m.

ARTHUR O. LA DUCER.A

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction-as follows: Page 1, first column, line 6, for "types of read --types and; page 2, first column, line l, before "means" insert --by--g and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the oase in the Patent Office. v

signed and sealed this 214th day of November, A. D. 19m.

l Henry Van Arsdale, (Seal) Acting; Commissioner of Patents. 

